Hey guys. im looking at an xr200 for a hunting bike. im gonna get a rack for the back behind the seat and an LED light instead of the factory headlight. what other kinds of modifications would you recomend to improve it for hunting? tyres, engine, anything.Cheers

I've got a Suzuki DR200. It's the farming model with the bigger sprocket so it dribbles along very slow in 1st gear. Great for going along wonky tracks. It's also got bars around the clutch and brake handle which is very handy if you drop it so ya don't snap off the handles. Tyres, well obviously knobblies are the way to go for max traction. I am thinking about fitting a 12inch light bar to shine a bit of light directly in front of the wheel to avoid rocks etc.. in the dark.

Trail bikes in general are geared to go too fast for your average Kiwi hunter's need. so drop the front sprocket a tooth or two. Say down to 12 tooth up front. Makes them a lot more ridable, especially when coming back out with a couple of deer boned out in the pack on your shoulders.

Clutch. Most DR's XR's and AGs are cable clutch operated. Keep them well lubricated (there's a do-dad available at bike shops that clamps to the cable and lets you spray CRC longlife or something else down the cable) You have no idea just how stiff a cable clutch is to pull in till you have ridden a modern trail bike with a hydraulic clutch

Bark busters are a given for a hunting bike. They are always getting dropped, so you have to protect your clutch and brake levers.

Lights on a trail bike rarely point the way you want to look at night. Also in lumpy going the stock light leaves a big shadow under the front mudguard. Led lightbars are a good idea, though check to see just how much DC power your bike makes. Its normally not very much at all. All trail bikes run 12 volt (sometimes 6 volt) AC to operate their headlight, and leds don't use AC

I now run a bike headlamp (from Aliexpress) through a recitfier and regulator to get 8.4 volt DC . I have a plug up on the handlebars so that when I arse off (not if ), I separate from the bike with the plug pulling free from the socket, instead of wires stretching and breaking.

ALWAYS carry a few tools for plug changes (drowned bike) puncture repair and CRC (again for a wet bike). Heavy duty 10mm wide zip ties will keep a flat tyre on the rim if you can't fix it yourself. Just travel slowly.

DR's and XR's and AGs are pretty bulletproof, though are also pretty heavy. XR's are an absolute pig to get started again when you have dropped them when they are hot Learn how to restart them before you are miles away from civilisation.2 strokes can be quite a bit lighter in steeper terrain, though don't buy an ex motocross bike. Their gearbox ratios and motor characteristics are completely wrong for a hunting bike. Ag 100's and Mudbug 125's are worth looking at as they are light and simple mechanical wise.

A 2 wheeler will get you into terrain that a quad bike can only dream about. They also use less gas, and are easier to carry to your hunting spot (rack on the towbar). BUT they can't carry the kitchen sink like a quad can.

For all the dramas of converting AC into DC for a led lightbar on your hunting trail bike, depending on how many times you think you will ride at night, it can be a whole lot cheaper and simpler to run cheap and nasty Chinese bicycle lights bungied onto your handlebars. This video shows the standard Mudbug headlight, (candle!!) then three bicycle lights. Two bungied onto the handlebars and one on a headlight headband. They run off their own batteries. total cost about 60usd. Fitting time. 1 min:) Bought them 3 years ago. Still work fine.

I spoke to a bike machanic working on bikes at farm one afternoon and asked him what killed them all,as there are bike graveyards at most farms...the old ag 100s have oil chamber/sump close to front sprocket and it gets build up of crap/dirt and the oil bit gets damaged and motor siezes....now that screams run it at 50;1 to me and issue wont happen also keep the plurry thing clean..love the look of the new suzuki mudbug 125s...hope they are as good as the ones they made in the 80s.

I've owned both. Still have my 1978 Mudbug 185. Absolutely no work done on the motor in 39 years and still going strong, if somewhat rattly! The ag 2 strokes (yamaha and suzuki) from the 1970's and 80's were all mechanical oil injection so you didn't have to run premix. They are pretty simple systems, hence still going today. But the Ag 100 did have the injection pump in a vulnerable spot as the mechanic told you. The mudbug has the pump up behind and inside the engine casing from the countershaft sprocket, so is more protected. The bikes would last forever, but forgetting to refill the 2 stroke oil container under the seat would always lead to a seized engine. Dairy farm bikes generally fall to pieces from corrosion from the cow poo and too infrequent oil changes. Modern (2017 models onwards) 2 stroke enduro bikes have just gone back to oil injection, but electronically this time, and in different injection locations on the engine to make the bikes comply with the latest Euro emission standards

XR Hunter has it wrapped up for you. Myself and couple of mates hunted hard in the central plateau right through the 80's and into the 90's. We had a mix of bikes - '78 Suzy Mudbug, Ag 175, Ag200 (4 stroke and monoshock), and XR250.Some of the longer, steeper faces were beyond my Ag175 and the Mudbug due to being so low-geared and we had to walk them up in 1st or 2nd cog - the AG200 and the XR always made it up.The Ags with their enclosed chain covers were great as that Central Plateau dirt when wet is just grinding past being mostly pumice, the XR and Mudgbug sprockets wore out.The carriers on the Ags and Mudbug are great, (strong and roomy) but the XR's original ones were too small and needed carriers made up.The XR seat height is quite a bit higher making solid contact with the ground on the low side impossible - some of the trickier going bits with a deer (or two) on board kicked in the pucker-factor when the point of balance went all pie-shaped The Ags and the Mudbug seats are nice and low which allows the "outriggers" good ground contact (most times).Good "socks" over the bark-busters on the Ags saved the hands from freezing in winter and prevented cables tangling with scrub.You learned quick to be minimalist with gear when using a relatively small horse-power no storage-room bike with all power and space needed for transporting deer.A good headlights is essential as bike front wheels rarely face where you need the light to face A tyre pando was a great piece of kit too.A decent skid-lid is a must too - barrels really hurt when smacking you in the back of the head when (not if) you come off.Take care of how your sling positions the rifle if you carry it across your back - that (expensive and zeroed) scope might "bounce" on the carrier.Have a thought about how to get out from under the bike when its super-hot exhaust is burning into your inner thigh when you come off and a heavy stag strapped on board is resisting your pathetic attempts to slide out That said, bikes open up a whole lot more country to you - especially in recovering animals (or these days just meat).